Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Florida will be the first state to
have issued 1 million permits allowing people to carry concealed
firearms, said Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner of
agriculture and consumer affairs.

Florida had issued 993,200 active permits as of Nov. 30,
according to state data. Of those, 875,600 were for state
residents, accounting for 4.6 percent of its 19.1 million
population. The state will pass the 1 million mark next week,
Putnam said at a news conference today in Tallahassee.

“Floridians have a great respect and appreciation for
their Second Amendment rights,” Putnam said.

Florida was among the first states in 1987 to require
approval of concealed-carry licenses for any applicant who meets
certain criteria, instead of giving local police discretion over
those decisions. Today, 38 states have “shall issue” laws
similar to Florida’s, according to the National Rifle
Association, a firearms-rights group based in Fairfax, Virginia.

Florida, the fourth-most-populous state, had 887,000 active
permits as of Dec. 31, 2011, according to the U.S. Government
Accountability Office. Pennsylvania had the second-most with
786,000.

In Florida, permits are issued to anyone who, among other
things, is at least 21 years old and has never been convicted of
a felony crime.

The number of concealed permits in Florida has nearly
doubled since 2008. Putnam said he didn’t know what accounted
for the increase in permits.